Strigiformes
by KandyMiraj
Summary: One of the hardest parts of life is, after getting knocked down, deciding whether to stay down or get up and keep going. Aso Koharu knows that all too well - having had to do just that, alone, many times before. But even if she was used to doing things by herself, getting some help now and then surely wasn't a bad thing. Akaashi Keiji/OC
1. Day 01, Monday

**_Notes: So, a little while ago, I realized that out of all of my fanfics, I have never written about a pretty girl. Each of my characters had their good points (maybe pretty eyes, long legs, flat stomach, etc) but I realized that they were more either the plain-Jane types, or had more flaws than good points. Which is fine, because a lot of people have a lot of flaws but it's whether someone can love that about you that matters. Everyone has at least _****some****_._**

**_But I had never written about a girl that was considered pretty/beautiful to the general public. And there are a lot of girls in life that are like that, too (mostly celebrities, but not always lol). So I kind of wanted to write about someone who was considered pretty to more than just one person (what is that even like omg)._** **_And then, this. She's still got flaws - because like I said, everyone has flaws - and we'll see some pretty early on, and others later._**

**_I rewrote this chapter about 7 times and I'm still not very happy with it. I wasn't quite sure how to end it and I think it's too short, so I'm sorry - but you'll have to bear with me for now._**

* * *

><p><em>Day 01, Monday<br>"I'm the ace!" _

They've only exchanged a few words. Koharu was in the same class as Akaashi in her first year at Fukurodani, and this year she sat right behind him. They didn't speak much, but she remembered him. He was one of the only people that she talked to that didn't make fun of her afterwards.

_"Ah, there goes Melons!"_

_"Look at them."_

_"Dude, they jiggle when she walks!"_

_"Ew, gross~."_

Koharu sighed, rolling her eyes as she passed by the whispering students without even glancing their way. If they were so petty that they couldn't say it to her face, then they weren't worth her time.

"Koha-chan!"

The blonde girl stopped at the sound of her name, looking to her right to catch the eyes of her two friends - Mai waving her over and Sosuke merely standing next to her with the same blank look on his face. The second-year immediately brightened, running over to her friends to join them for lunch.

"Hello, Aso-senpai." The black-haired boy greeted.

"Sosuke, stop calling me that! We've know each other for, what, six years now?" She whined, flipping her long ponytail over her shoulder.

"Oh, you know So-chan. He'll never not be formal with you." Mai sighed, waving her hand flippantly.

"As God as my witness, he will call me by my first name one day!" The blonde declared.

The brunette girl glanced at her, "Good luck with that."

Koharu smiled in response, watching her two friends spiral into yet another argument. Ah, that's right. She didn't need those other people. With these two by her side, she had all she needed.

* * *

><p>Akaashi sighs as he heads out of the gym, the sound of the practice going on behind him fading as the door closes. He's usually really good with remembering everything he needed, but was distracted when Bokuto came by his classroom to pick him up for their club. The third-year's loud voice naturally pulled everyone's attention to him, and Akaashi was no exception - which was why he forgot his water bottle back in class.<p>

He had just passed by a flight of stairs when he heard a feminine scream, what sounded like papers fluttering in the air, and a lot of thumps. He turned to see a blonde girl sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, groaning slightly.

_Did she just fall down the stairs?_

Akaashi immediately backpedaled in a panic, rushing over just as the girl slowly started to sit up. The second-year knelt down next to her, a worried look in his eyes. Even if he didn't know the girl personally, there was still reason to be worried after witnessing someone fall down a _flight of stairs_.

"Are you alright?"

Cerulean eyes blinked up at him, instantly brightening, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" The girl got to her feet quickly, smoothing down her skirt and groaning when she looked at her bag and papers scattered around the steps.

The dark-haired boy watched her warily as she stepped up to pick up the papers, seemingly fine despite the fact that she just took a quite a tumble down those same steps. The girl seemed familiar, Akaashi was sure he had seen her face before. Thinking back, he realized that she sat behind him this year, and was in the same class as him the year before. They had only exchanged a few words, mostly her asking for the time or what they were supposed to be doing when she accidentally fell asleep in class, but it'd be pretty hard for anyone to forget a face that pretty. What was her name again? Oh, right.

"Aso-san. Are you sure you're alright?" He asked just to make sure.

Aso Koharu looked up from picking up her things to blink at him, face splitting into a bright grin seconds later, "Yeah! Don't worry about it, this happens all the time!"

_All the time?_ Akaashi blanched.

"Akaashi-kun, right?" The blonde second-year questioned.

Her classmate replied with a nod.

"If you really want to help, you can start picking up papers, too."

The male blinked, hesitating for a second before heading up the stairs to help gather her papers together. The task went by a lot quicker with two people, and soon the blonde was packing her papers back into her bag. He was about to inquire as to if she was sure she didn't want to go to the nurse, but was interrupted by a different loud voice.

"Akaashi! What's taking you so long? I thought-" Bokuto stopped at the bottom of the staircase, leaning to look around the second-year boy, "Aso-chan?"

"Bokuto!" The blonde greeted, rising to her feet, and Akaashi flinched at her volume, "It's been a while!"

"Yeah, it has! How do you know Akaashi?" The third-year rushed up the stairs to them.

"Oh, I don't. Well, not that well. We were in the same class last year and again this year, but we've barely talked. He saw me fall down the stairs and helped me pick up my stuff." Koharu grinned, fixing the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

"You fell _again_?"

"Haven't I told you before? It happens-"

"-all the time. Yeah."

"I'm sorry," Akaashi interrupted, and they both turned to him with equally expectant and shining eyes. "_How_ do _you two_ know each other?"

"Oh, well we met last year-"

"-I was on my way to club practice-"

"-and then he saw me trip and spill all my stuff-"

"-and I helped her pick it up."

The second-year boy blanched at the way they each told the story, identical grins on their faces. Why did they sound like lovers telling the story of how they first met?

"I see..."

"Speaking of clubs," Bokuto looked over to Koharu, "Are you in the baseball club again this year?"

The blonde girl grinned, puffing her chest up proudly, "Yup! Mika-chan promoted me to vice-captain!"

Bokuto quickly raised his hands up to meet hers in a loud, echoing high five that made Akaashi flinch. "Really? So cool! You'll probably be captain next year then!"

"Hah? '_Probably_'? I'll definitely be captain, no doubt! Who in this school is better at baseball than me? I'm the ace!"

"Ohoho? You're so confident, but do you have the skill to back it up~?" The third-year crossed his arms.

"You just heard me say I was the ace! Of course I do!" Koharu pouted, setting her hands on her hips.

"Ah, the confidence of youth-"

"You're only a year older than me..."

"-How about you come to our practice and see how a _real_ ace does it?"

"What do you mean 'a _real_ ace'? I just told you, _I'm an ace_! Besides, I have practice, too."

"Scared I'll prove I'm more of an ace than you?"

"No, dammit!"

"Then let's go! Skip practice, it's only one day!"

_Don't tell her to skip practice!_ Akaashi glared over at his captain. _You're supposed to set an example, third-year!_

"Hmm... _well_-"

"Great, let's go!"

Bokuto grabbed his underclassman by the wrist, dragging Koharu down the stairs and towards the gym. Akaashi sighed, watching his classmate try to keep up with the overactive man-child. He shook his head, turning to walk the other way. He still needed to get his water bottle, and now he had a migraine.

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Notes:<span> See what I mean? Short. OTL**_

_**BIG thanks to Bergliot, Ferret, and Donut for the support and ideas! Really, thank you guys, I'm sorry that this isn't up to your standards because you guys were excited about AsoAka but I swear I'll try and be better about it from now on! Also, this took a long time for such a short chapter...**_

_**Headcanon 1: Koharu's weakness is guys with glasses, tattoos, or piercings. (**__**Akaashi's an exception lol)**_


	2. Day 05, Friday

**_Notes: I have no idea what Akaashi's teacher looks like nor whether it's a male or female so I created one. Also, the very beginnings of conflict for Koharu, mostly just an introduction, but we're getting there~! c:_**

* * *

><p><em>Day 05, Friday<br>"Asocchi~!"_

Koharu swore her head was going to _explode_. Who was the genius that decided to make school days _this long_? Oh, if only she could beat some sense into that person.

The blonde's legs bounced as an indication that she couldn't wait to bolt out of the room when school was over any minute now. Akaashi turned to give her a pointed look with a raised brow, and it was only then that she realized she had been shaking his seat, too. She grinned sheepishly, ceasing her actions immediately.

"Now, before you go, I have a project in mind for you." The woman at the front of the class grinned devilishly at the groans that filtered around the room.

Koharu was the loudest.

"Oh don't be such babies. You'll have partners!" The black-haired woman shrugged.

As her teacher talked, the blonde girl shifted her eyes to stare out of the classroom's window, completely ignoring the directions to the project. If it were earlier in the day, she would have listened, but now all she wanted was to get out of there and scarf down as much food as she could afford. Sadly, that wasn't much. The girl's stomach growled at the reminder.

Koharu jumped as the teacher called her name, "Huh?"

The woman sighed, "Pay attention, I'm announcing groups." She turned back to her list, "Okay, Aso-chan will be paired up with Akaashi-kun..."

_Yes!_

"...and Oshima-chan."

_Oh, crap!_

The blonde let her head fall and slam against her desk top, internally screaming.

"Please, try to contain your excitement." Her sensei deadpanned, moving on the the next three-person group.

If only she could have stayed with just Akaashi. Or even Akaashi and a different person, as long as that person wasn't _Oshima Momoka_. Now, personally, Koharu didn't have any problem with the beautiful, black-haired class president, but it _did _seem like the shorter girl has a problem with her. The two had been going to school together since their elementary days, but it wasn't until they were around 10 years old that Oshima began to show signs of contempt for the blonde.

Back then, Koharu was a different type of person, so she hadn't cared when it first started. In fact, she hadn't even really taken notice of it for a while. But since middle school, the blonde had begun to change and so had her views on other people. Unfortunately, it seemed that Oshima's views hadn't changed like her classmate's had. Although, Koharu had no idea what those views were because the class president had not bothered to tell her anything about why she had such distaste for her.

When the blonde girl lifted her head, Akaashi was staring at her with a raised brow. She opened her mouth to speak but cut herself off when she caught Oshima's glare from the corner of her eye. Instead, she looked away and shrugged at the boy in front of her. Akaashi looked at her for a couple moments more before turning back around. Koharu sighed, slumping down in her seat.

"Alright, I'll see you all tomorrow."

The second-year shot up out of her seat, grabbing her already prepacked bag and rushing out of the door. She stumbled when the tip of her foot dragged across the ground, but managed not to trip and rushed up the stairs to the third-year floor. She managed to squeeze past the throng of moving bodies before being caught at the elbow.

"Hey, Aso-chan!" Bokuto yelled in her ear.

Koharu grinned back at him, yelling, "Bokuto! What's up?"

"You gonna come to my practice today?"

"You know that I _am_ on a sports team myself, right? I can't keep skipping practices."

"I thought you were the ace?"

"I am, but that doesn't mean I can skip! Why are you trying so hard to get me in trouble?"

"Bokuto-san, I'd appreciate it if your didn't try to persuade my teammate into skipping practices." A pretty girl with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail walked up to the two with a sigh.

"Captain!" Koharu greeted, running her fingers through her own ponytail.

"Let's go to practice, Ko. Yumi's probably waiting for you. You know her - '_Asocchi! Asocchi~!' _and all."

"Okay~! Bye, Bokuto. C'mon, Mika-chan!"

Kutsuro Mika nodded, briefly glancing over to her own classmate, "Goodbye, Bokuto-san."

Bokuto nodded absently, "Okay..."

The blonde wiped her forehead, slipping her damp cap back onto her head and pulling her ponytail through the back again. Her bat weighs in her hand, comfortable and familiar. The cool metal soothes her as she breathes in deeply, then out. She lifts the bat over her right shoulder, slipping into position at the batter plate.

"Go get 'em, Asocchi!" The dyed-redheaded first year, Toma Yumi, called from the dugout.

A couple whistles from her other teammates were heard as Koharu's muscles coiled in preparation for the swing. The pitcher, a brunette third-year, moved, the ball flying out of her hand smoothly. The blonde's body turned with her arms, torso rotating with the motion of her swing until she heard the satisfying _clink_ of the ball hitting metal - the bat vibrating from the impact - until her arms swung all the way around to her other shoulder.

"Good hit, Asocchi~!" Yumi called as the team watched the ball sail over the field's fence.

Koharu jogged around the bases, smiling as her team for the practice match ran out to the home plate to wait for her, cheering at her home run - Yumi was loudest. When the second year made it to the base, the redhead leaped on her, wrapping her legs around her waist and arms around her neck.

Mika wrapped up practice after that, the girls filing into the locker room after their captain. Koharu showered quickly, ready to get out of there and wolf down as much food as she could. Her legs were starting to ache, but her stomach's ache for sustenance was stronger. She slung her bag over her shoulder, calling out a goodbye to the girls ("Goodbye, Asocchi~! Love you!" Yumi shouted from the showers.) and got a chorus in return.

Heading out of the school, Koharu pulled out her cellphone from the pocket of her jeans (she always brought a new set of clothes for after practice so she didn't have to change back into her school uniform) and texted a quick message to Mai to meet up for food.

"Hey, hey, heyyy!"

The blonde blinked, locking her phone and putting it back before turning around to the familiar voice. Bokuto grinned at her, Akaashi nodding silently from his place beside his captain.

"Yo." Koharu greeted the boys with a grin, slowing down to let them catch up.

"You get out of practice at the same time that we do! Where ya going?" The third-year's loud voice filtered out and murdered the silence that his kouhai was previously enjoying.

A few people passing by glared.

"Getting some food, I'm starving!"

"Oh, us too! Let's go together."

"Well, I'm getting burgers, so as long as you're cool with that..."

Bokuto looked towards Akaashi, a pleading expression on his face. The dark-haired boy sighed, relenting, "Fine."

"Yes!" The white-gray haired boy hissed, pumping his fist in the air.

"Mai-chan's gonna meet us." Koharu informed.

"The more the merrier!" Bokuto shrugged, grinning happily.

_That's not technically true..._ Akaashi blankly watched the two prattle on about food and sports as they made their way to the fast food restaurant.

"Koha-chan!" Mai called from the door when she spotted her taller friend.

"Hey!" The blonde girl raises her hand in a wave.

"Oh, I didn't know you'd be joining us Akaashi-kun and... you."

Bokuto gasped, holding a hand to his heart with a horrified look on his face, "'_You_'? Is that how you talk to your senpai?"

Mai stared, "No, that's not how I talk to my senpai. That's how I talk to _you_."

"Hey-"

"Mai-chan, stop picking fights!" Koharu whined, grabbing the shorter girl's elbow and pulling her inside the fast food building, "Let's go already! Food awaits!"

Akaashi sighed, rubbing his temples, and followed the other three inside. He ushered them into a corner booth as far away from the other customer's as possible - just in case. Koharu and he went to the front counter to order food for the table. Akaashi pales at the amount of food the blonde girl ordered, and really hopes that that's for the table.

It's not.

She orders two of a different kind of burger - he assumes it's for Mai - and turns to him, "You order for Bokuto and yourself, since I don't know what you two like."

The cashier girl is staring at the blonde weirdly, probably wondering how the hell she plans to eat all of that, like himself. After he orders and she refuses to take 'no' for an answer when it comes to paying, they carry the food back to the table. Koharu slides in next to Mai and Akaashi next to Bokuto. The third-year grins and thanks them for the food before catching sight of Koharu's plate and jerking back in surprise.

It goes unnoticed by the blonde as she hands the two different burgers to the brunette girl next to her. As the taller girl dives into the twenty-some-odd burgers of her own, Bokuto and Akaashi slowly get around to eating theirs - Mai acts like there's nothing strange there. Conversation mainly involves Koharu and Bokuto, with Mai's occasional backhanded comment to the third-year boy. Although, whenever the blonde girl realizes that Akaashi has been quiet for a bit too long, she pulls him in as well.

He's not sure if he's thankful for that or not.

After Koharu finishes her food in record - not to mention, stunning - time, they throw away their trash and exit the building. They're all heading back to the dorms when a feminine yelp erupts from behind the two boys and brunette girl. They all turn to see Koharu on the ground, slowly getting up from the concrete. Mai sighs, loudly slapping her forehead.

When Koharu pulls her left knee up, the cloth is slightly worn and a bit of blood can be seen through the cloth. Akaashi holds a hand out for her and she stares up at him in surprise for a moment, before grinning brilliantly and taking his offered help. He immediately steers her over to a bench and gently sits her down. The second-year boy pulls a first-aid kit out of his bag, that is usually used for volleyball practice for when Bokuto either hurts himself or someone else.

Akaashi rolls up his classmate's pant leg and gently places her leg over his to get close to the bleeding scrape. He cleans it quickly, with little pain, and his fingers are warm and soft on her skin. She can't take her eyes off of him as he gets around to bandaging her knee. His eyelashes nearly brush his cheeks because he's looking down, his skin looks smooth and his hair soft - she almost reaches a hand out to touch it. He suddenly looks up when he's finished and Koharu feels like she's been caught, face immediately flushing red.

Akaashi helps the blonde girl up again by taking her hands, and her heartbeat quickens so much she thinks he can hear it. If he does, he doesn't show it, just asks if she's okay and she replies yes and thanks him. He puts all of his stuff away and they continue on their way back to the academy. Koharu has a sinking feeling in her stomach, though, that accompanies her heart that's still ramming against her ribcage and her red face.

_Oh crap... he's cute._

* * *

><p><strong><em><em><span>Notes:<span> Yes, I did get the 'cchi' in 'Asocchi' from Kise from KnB b/c it's such a cute nickname lol.  
><em>_**

**_Review replies~! c; _**

**_Donut: I know! It's weird because a lot of the flat to average chested people I've talked to wished they had bigger chests but it's not as easy or great as a lot of ppl think it is. (First of all, back and shoulder pains! Also buying bras!) Women with bigger chests get judged a LOT and it doesn't make sense to me? The size of your chest has nothing to do with who you are as a person.  
>Yes, I hate the ending! I got to a point where it was like, "Okay, now what?" and I'm sorry about that. Really.<br>A backstory on Bokuto and Koha is actually a good idea so I'll most likely do that pretty soon, thanks!  
>Yeah the first paragraph is kinda awkward but I figured it would more follow into her being talked about rather than Akaashi, but I see what you mean.<br>Don't worry about critiques! This was very helpful and as long as it's critiques that help me with my writing then they're always welcome!  
>Thanks for the review and no prob about the shout out! I'll try to make the story better from now on, doll~! c:<em>**

**_Bergliot: I'm glad you're excited for it! Yes, Donut mentioned something about a BoKoha flashback and I think I'll do that soon.  
>Yeah, I kept imagining Akaashi having kind of that face from the comic on Tumblr where he's like "Why is the captain of our team such a dumbass?" lol. There's no way I couLD ADD BOKUTO WITHOUT OHOHOHO! It gives me life, Jesus take the wheel.<br>He's such a trash senpai omg.  
>Yes I have plans for interactions yes yes. Koharu manages a lot of stuff, that sly little shit haha (I just tried to type Koharu on my iPod and it changed to Logarithm wtf).<br>Yes Koha will make damn sure that they talk from now on.  
>Thanks for the review! I'll try to make the story better from now on, doll~! c:<em>**

**_Chocogirl24: Thank you, doll~! c: I'll try to make my updates quicker but no promises b/c I'm the worst kind of person lol._**

**_Headcanon 2: When she first met him, Koharu thought Bokuto was really cute. Now she thinks of him as an older brother._**

* * *

><p>Extra: Bokuto &amp; Koharu's First Meeting (<em>I didn't know how to incorporate this into the story so I made it an extra.<em>)

* * *

><p>The blonde first-year looked around, running a hand through her hair in exasperation. She turned back down the hallway, intending to go back the way she came. Maybe she missed it? Although, she wasn't sure how she could miss an entire field. The girl was so focused on looking out the windows that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.<p>

Well, not that it would have helped anyway.

Koharu's foot skidded across the tile floors, sending her forward, arms flailing. Her bag flew out of her hands and hit the floor, spilling her stuff. She threw her arms out in front of her just in time to shield her face from smacking the floor when she hit the ground - it didn't save her knees from bashing into the tile, though.

"Okay. _Ow_."

"Heeyyyy! You alright?"

The blonde looked up to see a boy approaching, and quickly sat up, moving to gather her papers and bag. The boy stopped in front of her, stooping to help pick up her things.

"Are you okay?" He asked again.

Koharu laughed, waving her hands, "Oh, yeah, yeah! I'm fine, thanks!"

"Oh, good!" He grinned, handing her the things he had gathered, "I'm Bokuto Koutaro!"

"Thanks. I'm Aso Koharu, nice to meet you!" She grinned, taking the papers and putting them in her bag with the others. "Um, do you know where the girls' baseball field is? I was looking out of the windows but I couldn't find them." She asked as they stood up.

Bokuto nodded sagely, crossing his arms over his chest, "Ah, I see. So you're a first year then. The fields are on the other side, way behind the school. That's why you can't see it from here."

Koharu sighed, shoulders slumping, "Ugh, that sounds like a lot of walking... Well, thank you, Bokuto-kun." She nodded her head slightly, stepping back.

"Yeah, sure thing! If you have any other questions, just come find me! Bokuto-senpai will help you!" He laughed loudly, puffing out his chest.

"Okay! Thank you!" The blonde bowed, blushing slightly.

She turned to run off down the hallway, turning the corner. Once she was out of the second-year's sight she slowed and finally came to a stop. She leaned her back against the wall for a second, holding a hand to her quickly beating heart, face flushed. She had just tripped and fell in front of a super cute second-year.

_Why is it always _me_?_


End file.
